Knowing how to be organised is one of the main steps to achieve success in your life. Organisation is key if you want to be productive, lower anxiety levels and be confident.
Picture this:
You’ve got loads of deadlines this week; you come back from work, and you don’t know where to begin. Well to be honest, you’re finding it difficult to remember everything you need to do, one thing comes in your mind and then the rest of your tasks slip away. When you have finished your first deadline, you realise that its actually due at the end of the week but you have one due tomorrow morning and its already nearly midnight.
I could go on, but doesn’t that scenario just make you feel stressed?
Now picture this:
You’ve come back from work, and yes you feel nervous because of all the work you have ahead of you but you feel confident that you will get it done because you’re prepared. You refer to your list, and choose the task that has the highest priority. You already have a detailed plan of what to get done so you’re able to finish early and enjoy your evening. The rest of your tasks have been thoroughly planned and you’ve time blocked your days to get them all done as soon as possible.
Doesn’t that scenario now fill you with relief? This is just one small example of what your life can look like when you’re disorganised vs. organised.
If you want to find some tips on how to be organised/ learn how to organise your life and get your life in order and avoid that train wreck I described in the first scenario, read on!
What are 14 ways to stay organized?
1. Review last week and write down what could be better
Reviewing every week that has passed and figuring out how it could have been better and implementing it in the following week is a great way to stay organised.
It means that you’re constantly growing each week, and refining your process so that it is more efficient and you can get more out of it.
2. Make lists
Make lists for all the things that will help you stay organised throughout the week. Then group together similar tasks in these lists and set time to get them done bit by bit.
For example, if you’ve written:
Unsubscribe from emails I no longer want to follow
Clean fridge
Reply to unread messages
Clean bookshelf
Call Mum
You would group together ‘clean fridge’ and ‘clean bookshelf’ together as they are similar.
3. Have three main goals throughout the week/ day
If you’re not into scheduling out every hour of your day and prefer a slightly less structured way to get things done (but that will help you stay organise), aim to complete three goals throughout the week and three goals throughout the day.
For each of the three main things you need to get done throughout the week, break each of them down into steps and schedule each step into your week.
For your three main goals throughout the day, focus on getting those done first and then you can do any other extra tasks.
4. Make schedules/ routines that you can follow each week
This can be a cleaning schedule, a self-care routine or even a set time a week you leave to read your book.
The main schedules/ routines I would suggest for you to have is a morning routine, night routine, monthly schedule and weekly schedule, and finally a to-do list.
If you don’t have a set schedule that you follow, focus on getting those down first. Trust me, it will get you so organised!
Related:
Positive Affirmations In The Morning To Elevate Your Day
The Perfect Night Time Routine To Relax & Prepare For The Week
Sunday Routine To Prepare For A Hard Week & Skyrocket Productivity
The Realistic Morning Routine For Maximum Productivity
The 5-Minute Productivity Hack That Actually Works
5. Start off with the harder/ longer tasks and work your way down to easier/ shorter tasks
During the beginning of the day is when you have the most energy, so this is the best time to get rid of the more difficult tasks.
When you get these ones done first, you will feel a sense of relief as you know that you only have the easy ones left.
6. Look into time management techniques
Finding useful time management techniques that can cut tasks down in half the time is a great way of how to be organised.
Being organised doesn’t just mean having a bunch of lists and routines; in order to be organised, you need to guard your time and only give it to things that you know are worth it.
7. Be smart with how you spend your time
Following on about guarding your time and using it for things that will benefit you, be smart with how you spend it.
Being smart doesn’t just mean filling your time doing work, but also taking breaks. Breaks are essential to staying organised because if you constantly work, you will most definitely lead to burnout (which can sometimes last for weeks or longer).
Schedule in regular breaks, and don’t lose spontaneity in your life. I’ve heard that some people even schedule in time to see their friends and families, and once that time block is up, they go straight onto the next task.
Personally, I think this is a really ‘robotic’ way of living life and not natural and normal for everyone.
If that is what works for you that’s great, but spontaneity is one of the best things about life (seeing a friend after a long time and spending the entire day with them for example) and no matter how organised you get you should spend moments where things are out of your control, and you just have to sit back and enjoy the moment.
Related:
Time Management Ideas To Stop Wasting Time
Productivity Tips That Will Get A Week’s Worth Of Work Done In 3 Days
8. Assign certain days to do certain tasks
Make Sunday your self-care day, set aside Friday evening for your weekly movie night etc.
When assigning certain tasks for each day (that can be for work or for pleasure), you know what to expect every week. This keeps you prepared and ready for what is coming.
9. Create schedules for every day things in your life
Some examples of this could be a monthly check up on your finances, a weekly cleaning schedule, a meal plan, or a monthly fitness plan.
These schedules should be for the general maintenance of your life/ household and they should be easy to do so that every month you know which day to pay the bills, when to cancel your contract or whatever else.
The best way to do this is to directly schedule into your monthly calendar.
10. Make a list of things you want to do
This list is solely for pleasure; it can be in the form of a bucket list, a ‘things you want to do this year’ list or both.
It is important to spend time on things that bring you happiness/ pleasure that is outside of work.
Sometimes with so much work to handle your hobbies get thrown out of the window. Writing it down will keep you accountable and ensure that you get it done.
11. Limit procrastination
One of the main ways procrastination occurs is through scrolling on social media.
Set timers on your social media platforms, and stop scrolling once your time is up.
Apart from this, identify what else you use when you’re procrastinating, what usually triggers procrastination and how you can change things to stop wasting time.
12. Don’t be a hoarder
Another way of how to be organised is to keep the space around you tidy. When you are surrounded by clutter, your mind is filled with clutter and it can be hard to stay focussed.
Secondly, you really don’t need to have those unused boxes you’ve left in the storage. They’re dusty, useless and need to go.
Buy things you really need, and learn to control your shopping habits; this will help you save money, space and time too.
Related:
How A Hygge Lifestyle Is Your Cure To Stress
How To Do Home Décor With Plants To Improve Mental Health
5 Simple Steps To Control Anxiety When You’re About To Have A Meltdown
13. Be ahead of things
Once you have gotten used to your schedules and are a lot more organised, focus on being ahead of things. Send in that application a few days before the deadline instead of on the day and pay your fine straight away instead of later on.
Staying on top of things earlier on will greatly help you if you have anxiety; it gives you a sense of control in life, and also a sense of confidence.
14. Do it now
If you know that a task is going to take a few minutes and will save you a lot of trouble if you do it now rather than later on, just do it now.
Before you can even begin procrastinating, count to three, get up and begin.
If you would like to know more on how to organise your day for success and how to get your life in order, comment below and let me know!
